According to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, flight schedules at OR Tambo International Airport have returned to normal.
There were delays in flights due to challenges related to refueling aircraft on 28 December, days before New Year’s Eve celebrations.
An issue with a fuel supply valve prevented the aircraft from refueling. Both international and domestic departures were delayed as a result.
According to ACSA, aircraft were refueled using a contingency tanker. “A total of 41 flights were impacted, 32 being domestic, eight international and one regional.”
An overseeing mission was conducted by Mbalula at ACSA on Monday, 2 January. According to the media briefing, ACSA acted appropriately and swiftly to minimise the impact of the challenge.
According to Mbalula, over the holiday period characterised by high volumes of travellers, the international airport handled roughly 300 departing air traffic movements per day both domestic and international on the busiest days.
“In terms of daily passenger volumes, the airport processed more than 27,000 departing domestic and international passengers per day on 9, 16 and 23 December 2022, which amounted to a 78% recovery rate from the previous year’s volumes,” said the minister.
The country’s airports are strategic assets and constitute major economic corridors connecting the country to the rest of the world, Mbalula said.
OR Tambo International Airport, also known as Johannesburg International Airport, is the largest and busiest airport in South Africa. The airport serves as the primary hub for South African Airways, and it is also a hub for several other airlines, including FlySafair, Lyft and more.
The CEO of ACSA Mpumi Mpofu added that following the peak season, the airport could welcome more travellers.
Jet fuel has been a contentious topic in South Africa’s troubled airline space. Over the latter months of last year, worries over jet fuel supply and delays ran high.
OR Tambo, alongside others, including Cape Town International Airport in 2022, saw jet fuel stocks dwindle and its price hike – resulting in occasional delays and high ticket prices.
Discovery Vitality’s CEO, Dinesh Govender told the Sunday Times, before the start of the festive season (5 December), that jet fuel price has almost tripled.
In 2019, a gallon of Jet A1 fuel, which is just under four litres, cost around $1.80. Now, in 2022, it costs around $3.30, said Govender. This has knock-on effects on the price of a flight ticket.
Domestic jet fuel supply is also in the hands of importation and global supply chains. Instances such as last year’s mass strike action at the national logistics and freight company Transit revealed the fragility of supply when relying solely on importation.
On 18 October, the Airlines Association of South Africa (AASA) warned that knock-on effects from the Transnet strike could exacerbate fuel supply issues and result in a nationwide jet fuel shortage